Warning: photo heavy

Over the past few days since I last posted, things around our household have been crazy busy. It always is about this time every year though, with the spring and summer mix of activities, including Mother's Day. One of my favorite things to do though is focus on our home...you know, the spring cleaning sort of thing. My husband and I do the garage together, since a third of it consists of a lot of my craft supplies. I'm managing to whittle that down quite a bit after having lived in our home for nearly eight years now. Funny how some of the things that meant something to you in previous years, no longer matters now.
Mother's Day was so wonderful!! My husband spoils me to no end. I once told him that he didn't have to do anything for me since I'm obviously not his mother, nor am I the mother to his children from a previous marriage. He responded with "I know this, but I also know from talking with your children, and seeing how much they have accomplished in their lives, you must have been one amazing mother! I want you to know you are appreciated for all of your hard work, and how much you do now for all of our children and grandchildren!" Is that not the sweetest ever? It's no wonder I said "I do" almost five years ago!

 

I had been wanting either a small chest or console table to put at the end of our hallway. That's not something Scooter would even try to pick out on his own. Unless it has a barrel or trigger on it, forget it! So, he sent me shopping to get what I wanted, and I found the perfect table. It's not yet displayed exactly how I want it, but for now, it's just pleasant to walk by and see such a pretty piece.

 

 

The surprises didn't stop there. A year and a half ago (wow, that went by fast!), we had our kitchen and dining room remodeled. I now had a huge long wall in the dining room that I needed to fill up. Scooter knew there was a particular clock I had been looking at over at our antique mall, that would be just perfect for this wall. I'm pretty sure it's not antique, but I wasn't necessarily going for that style anyway. That clock is now hanging on our wall and I'm so pleased with it! It's a good sized clock, probably about 2 1/2 feet in diameter.

 



 

 

Then, one of my daughters and her family brought me this and I love having someplace to hang my aprons now. The one on the left belonged to my mother and it brings me such wonderful memories of when she used to wear it to fix our family meals!! The clay pieces above the shelf are each of my three kids' hand prints from when they were in kindergarten. They are my prized possessions! My vintage style kitchen and dining room is beginning to take shape, and I'm loving the warmth and hospitality that it evokes!!

 

 

My husband also brought me a bouquet of beautiful flowers, and my youngest daughter's husband made us breakfast! I love my family!!!

 

 

Notice the quilted table runner? Yep, that's the one I had been working on, but got a little sidetracked from with other projects. I finally finished it last week, and now I want to make more quilted projects!! When my youngest daughter saw it, she asked for one too. That just melts my heart, since I never know what direction her tastes are going to go. When she asks for something I've made, that is the best compliment she could ever give me! My kids have always appreciated my sewing for them though, so I probably shouldn't be that surprised when she asks for something like this. I will need to get my machine in for servicing first though. It has been well used since my son bought it for me in 1992, and it has lost its reverse function. My dear husband has told me to go buy a new machine, but I'm a pretty sentimental kind of woman, not to mention that I love everything about my Brother machine!

 

In knitting news, I think I told you about a hat a friend from long ago (high school) requested for his mom that is going through chemo treatments. I never turn those requests down, so I stopped what I was doing, ran out and bought the yarn he wanted, and got busy knitting this for his mother....his sister loves it and will be picking it up by the end of the week. This is the Gerri Hat, by Marlaina "Marly" Bird, and I used Hobby Lobby's I love this Cotton yarn. It's so amazingly soft!

 

My knitting group has decided to do a KAL (knit-a-long), and we have chosen two different cardigans. A couple of the ladies are doing the Adrift, by Carol Feller, and the rest of us are going to knit Vodka Lemonade, by baby cocktails, aka Thea Colman. I have chosen a polwarth/silk blend by Lisa Souza, and have already begun. Most of the other ladies have never knit a sweater before, so I wanted to be just a little ahead of them in the pattern in case any of them need help. So far, I love this pattern!!

 

 

 

That's pretty much all the knitting I have done since I last posted. I'm hoping to get more done, but I'm also enjoying the beautiful weather we're having here in northern California, and spending time in and around our home. Oh, I forgot about something else I had been trying to find for a while now. I kept watching at the larger grocery stores, the garden centers, and just couldn't seem to find a gazing ball. I love placing things around our yards to add that little extra something. Yesterday, while out running errands, I found it!!!

 

 

It's just something that's a little fun to have in the yard, or a garden. This time next week, that fence will be replaced with a brand new one. I'm not looking forward to the mess, but at least, it's fairly quick to put one up. I've been spending time on my front porch as well, and I've pretty much got it how I had envisioned it. Sort of a cottage-y feel, with the sound of trickling water. So peaceful!

 

 

And the hydrangeas are blooming!

 

Do you have some favorite things you like in your garden?